Wisdom for Living – Proverbs

Wise Living
Prov 1:1–7 “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight; for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.”
We always want to know why and how…? Why are we here and how are we to live? The big questions of life – that’s the area of expertise of the Book of Proverbs. It is the collected wise sayings of the great King Solomon and a few others. Of course – Solomon ended up foolish and too well endowed with wives – he forgot to listen to himself which is a shame really.
Proverbs isn’t like other books in the Bible – it starts so well, clear, concise, and enticing. Read this and it will all make sense. But fact is – it’s a collection of sayings and it is all over the shop – it covers a wide range of stuff.
It’s about making mature choices. That’s what happens as you mature – you become aware that you can make choices – and that in any given situation you can choose. Proverbs covers a great raft of things, from how to treat your farm animals to how to choose a wife – sounds like fun – we’re just going to look at a few topics – friendship, the mouth and marriage – we’re going to look at the foolish steps we can take, the way of wisdom and the impact that living this side of the cross of Jesus makes.

Let me tell you a story
Sue and Helen were friends since childhood. They understood each other, sounded like each other, wore the same clothes and so on. When they left school Sue went to work and Helen to Uni. Sue’s job meant money, a car, a place to live and time. Helen was a student.
Sue often popped in to Helen’s – would browse the fridge, borrow clothes and stay late at night. If only she’d listened to Proverbs.
Proverbs 25:17 “Don’t go to your friends’ house all the time—too much of you, and she’ll hate you.”
Helen didn’t realize how annoyed she was getting until one night she had an uncontrollable urge to hide Sue’s wallet. She knew Sue well enough to know that even though it was a little thing it would really get up her nose. As Sue searched Helen scored points – until the tears came. Helen had to admit that it was a practical joke.
Prov 26:18-19 “Like a maniac who shoots deadly firebrands and arrows, is one who deceives a neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”
Playing practical jokes on friends is like playing with a deadly weapon. Things quickly deteriorated – Sue lost her job and had her car stolen and went to Helen for friendship. Instead she found self righteous anger. Helen … “now you know how it feels to struggle without money and a car, catching trains and coping”. (OHP9)
Proverbs 25:20 “Like vinegar on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. Like a moth in clothing or a worm in wood, sorrow gnaws at the human heart.”
Words and actions can become almost insurmountable barriers – even between the closest of friends – they eat away at us, especially when they come from “a friend”.
A few days later the gossip started – Helen’s such a slack friend – Sue’s such a cow – and their friends made sure that Helen and Sue knew what was being said. (OHP10)
Proverbs 16:28 “A perverse person spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.”
After that their lives never connected – until a friends wedding where they found themselves next to each other. Still they couldn’t talk – Helen’s wallet on the table made her think of Sue’s cruelty, and every time Helen talked to someone else Sue thought she was gossiping about her. What a mess – based on a refusal to forgive.
Proverbs 17:9 “One who forgives an affront fosters friendship, but one who dwells on disputes will alienate a friend.”
A friendship that could have lasted 50 years ruined by foolish steps – I wonder how many of us could tell a story like that one – a story of foolish choices. But it’s not that all friendships are like that or have to be – there is a way of wisdom in friendship.
Steve remembered the first day at training – he expected to be treated like a no-body. But his team members all knew that he was tipped to have a great future in Rugby – his playing career in Schoolboys was well known. From day one everyone wanted to be Steve’s mate.
Proverbs 19:6 “Many seek the favor of the generous, and everyone is a friend to a giver of gifts.”
Steve remembered that proverb – and he wanted a real friend. So he chose carefully and refused to take all offers of friendship. At first Tim seemed to be the right bloke. He was confident and handled the ball well – Steve thought he could learn from him. What he didn’t know was that when things went wrong Tim was not the best bloke to be around. He would spit at referees, break rules – he was a poor choice.
Proverbs 22:24-25 “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.”
Steve noticed he had most in common with Michael in the reserve grade – they were both Christians. As their friendship grew so did Steve’s injury count – the knee, the shoulder, he was slowing down and missing tackles – and he was picked less and less. But his popularity was irrelevant to Michael – he was in for the good and bad.
Proverbs 18:24 “Some friends play at friendship but a true friend sticks closer than one’s nearest kin.”
Years later that friendship showed its strength. Steve’s wife walked out and Steve decided his life was one big mistake. His footy mates made jokes about other fish in the sea – only Michael stood by him and listened. People at church avoided Steve – he felt awkward and embarrassed – but Michael met with him every week and they prayed and talked about how God might fit into it all. Steve often felt anger and bitterness towards God – Michael just listened to that anger and talked about the kindness and mercy of Jesus – and when he had to he was honest with Steve about the mistakes he was making.
Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
Proverbs 27:9 “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, but the sweetness of a friend is better that one’s own counsel.”
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Proverbs is big on choices – so what are we going to do?
Are we going to make foolish steps in friendship or are we going to walk the path with them?
Are we looking for friends like Sue and Helen – or Michael?
If we want to take the book of proverbs for what it is – wisdom for life – then we’ll follow the wisdom and find out how good friendship can be.
This side of Jesus’ Cross
The thing is – unlike Solomon and the other writers we know the extent of good friendship – Jesus has bent over backwards – or rather – stretched out his arms – to show us what incredible friendship is. All the stuff we say we want in friendship – commitment, honesty, truth, dependability, steadfastness, true love – this is Jesus to us.
If we’re looking for the ideal friend – husband, wife, a life long confidant – we must look no further than Jesus and the friendship he gives. That will be wisest thing of all – to stop looking for the ideal friend and with Christ’s strength to start being the ideal friend.

The Risk of Giving

John 3:16-21
The Risks in Giving
Christmas!

Every year we faced the problem – what do I get people for Christmas? You’d think it would be easy – all you have to do is get the right presents for the right people – every year. That’s the rub of course – regardless of what you spend – getting the right thing for the right person – that’s the difficult part. When my son was little it was easy – there are all sorts of really cool toys for boys – all sorts of things that I can happily play with on Christmas D… sorry… I mean that he can play with of course! Girls on the other hand – well you can only have so many Barbie’s and dolls houses. These days the presents are smaller and more expensive.
And then there’s the family – the brother’s in law – what can you buy under $15 that will not simply go in the bin. So you pore over the junk mail and catalogues in the letterbox. You watch the ads on TV trying to find the perfect gift for those hard-to-buy-for family members. It’s not easy – and it’s risky. Cause if you make a mistake…!
We all know the feeling of opening the present at the Christmas family lunch… the paper’s off, the gift’s in full view and you’re thinking “what is this?” But it’s not what you say. “Oh! This is wonderful – I’ve always wanted one of these – I have the perfect spot for it” or “wow! What an unusual gift.”
Which is not what you want to hear them say about the gift you’ve just given! Or worse maybe – you don’t want to offend people by the gift you give – if you give your wife a cookbook will she think you’re trying to say something about her cooking. Will your husband be offended by the jumbo sized antiperspirant novelty gift pack with pillow protectors? What are you trying to say about his personal hygiene? If you buy clothing that’s too big are you trying to say they look big… or too small that they need to lose some weight!
Christmas is a time for peace, love, friendship, giving… and total abject paranoia. Present buying is rife with potential for disaster.
God’s gift
Today in most homes we will be focussed on gifts – and if you have enough people around then paper and mess – and maybe it will be fun. But in the midst of all that how do we focus also on that very first Christmas – when God gave us a gift.
When God chose this gift for us there was no question about him making a mistake. He knew exactly what we needed.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Interesting gift – a son! God’s son! At first it should strike us as odd – why give us a person – why not faith or salvation or riches and glory? Wouldn’t it have been easier just to make all people believers and get rid of sin, give everyone faith and then not have Jesus die?

God knew that Jesus was exactly what each of us needed. The perfect gift.

God knew we had a problem – he knew what we lacked and what we had too much of. We were in trouble – in serious trouble. God knew that sending his son Jesus would be the only thing to get us out of that trouble.
That’s what the angel announces to Joseph. Mary’s going to have a baby – nothing like surprising the husband to be…
Matthew 1:21 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Our problem was and is sin – not just moral failure, but we ignore God and we shut God out – sin is not simply doing bad things – it’s us telling the God who created us and who keeps us alive, telling him to buzz off – telling him that we don’t need him or want him around and really we’d be much happier sorting out our own life. Imagine your children telling you that? Imagine something you’ve created – a car you’ve rebuilt, a picture you’ve painted, a house you’ve built, the cows you care for and milk, the dog or cat you care for, the things you create and look after – imagine them telling you to go away. It makes it easier to understand that our most pressing need is to be forgiven by God.
Maybe we’re not convinced that’s the gift we need. People often find it hard to see themselves as sinful. And out there in the big wide world most people think the opposite is true – if there is anything wrong with this world it’s other people – not me. In fact these days lots of the world believes that the real problem with the world is the religious people!!!! In any case the problem is other people – and “I don’t need forgiveness – sure – I could improve in a few areas but the whole forgiveness deal – that’s unnecessary!”
God says we need forgiveness not simply to deal with sin or to make us better people, but we need forgiveness if we want to be friends with him. Not just mates on speaking terms at the pub – “how ya going God, yeh not bad mate – what about those Dragons/Wallabies/Blues – I think it’s your shout God…!” Not mates, not buddies, not work pals. God offers us friendship. Even though we tell God to get lost he still wants us to be his friends.
And he openly offers us the forgiveness we need to become his friends–that’s why He sent his Son into the world. That’s what Christmas is about – God‘s gift of his Son. Jesus came into the world to live among us and to die on the cross so that we could be forgiven and become God’s friends.
Accepting the gift
Some people on Christmas morning have two questions as they open their presents… like a rating system.
1. How expensive is it?
2. How much do I need it/want it?
It’s an interesting response to a gift … what happens if you apply those questions to the gift God has given us in Jesus? Based on that rating system – on need and expense, Jesus is the best gift you’ll ever receive.
You want expensive…? God gave us his one and only Son. You can’t get a more expensive gift than that. He sacrificed his son so that we might live. Imagine the cost of giving up a child to save other people – and maybe then we can get an inkling of the enormous cost that God was prepared to bear so that we humans might be safe…
And the second question – how much do I need it? This is THE gift you need more than you can imagine.
If you want to know God as his friend…
If you want to be forgiven by God…
If you want to share eternity with God in heaven…
…then this is a gift you need.
Do you know the biggest danger churches face? Never asking the right questions. I have friends who go to a church and the minister preaches a great sermon with great application and then proceeds to let everyone off the hook. He never asks the right question! So this Christmas – you’re ready for the presents, and the food, and maybe the heat, and you’re ready for the family – but are you ready for God? Are you ready to face God and for him to ask why he should let you into heaven?
Have you accepted the gift for yourself? Our tree has been up for a month, the house is clean, the food and drinks are ready – the presents have all been wrapped and are sitting under the tree – there are name tags on all the presents showing who they’re for. In our family presents happen after church. Right now those presents don’t belong to whoever’s name is on them. They are sitting under the tree – the gifts are ready to be given – but one thing remains. The giving and the receiving!
God has given the gift of Jesus – but for it to mean anything we have to accept the gift for ourselves.
The right question to ask at Christmas is… have you accepted the gift God offers of forgiveness? Have you prepared for meeting God by entrusting your life into Jesus hands? If you haven’t – then can I say this is the Christmas to do so. This is the time – the perfect time to celebrate Christmas by trusting in the one born this day to save the world.
This Christmas can you honestly say thankyou to God for the gift he has given us.

Meeting Jesus – Just a Man?

Passion and Pain

Do you think you understand what Jesus went through on the cross?

I think that’s one of the things Mel Gibson’s “The Passion” did for many people – give them a new perspective on Jesus’ death – a much more violent ending to Jesus’ life than they were used to.

It takes a lot to shock me. I have this tendency to dissect what’s happening rather than be affected by it – I just want to know how they do it. But “The Passion” really got me. It didn’t surprise me – I’ve known for a long time what was involved in the cross – maybe more than most people – but the movie leaves no real room for the imagination. There are so many movies about Jesus – in many Jesus is white with long beautiful flowing hair, clean white clothes – purity. Movies tend to over spiritualise the truth – the white robes, clean sandals, lack of blood, pain, tears, grief – Jesus becomes a super-human – mythical, easily consigned to the pages of history.

Was Jesus superhuman more than human? There was something special about him – a man like all others and yet unique! The church spent the first 500 years arguing about how Jesus could be just like everyone else and yet be something completely different. It’s hard to see how Jesus could be a man. It’s much easier to see Jesus as altogether different.

Unique

Every time you write the date you acknowledge that Jesus was unique – all history is divided by Jesus’ birth. In 1969 Richard Nixon declared the American landing on the moon was “the greatest day since creation”. The evangelist Billy Graham said he was right – except for Christmas and Easter. Which has to be true! Jesus spoke to less people in his ministry than Billy Graham spoke to at just one stadium – and Graham spoke at thousands of stadiums. Yet Jesus changed the face of the earth in ways we would never suggest that Billy Graham might have. For 2000 years the world has revolved around Jesus. More than 2 billion people, ¹/₃ of the world’s population swear allegiance to Jesus. For the rest Jesus is the enemy, a swear word, or maybe real but irrelevant. Even other religions feel the need to acknowledge Jesus.

Normal

As unique as he was, he was also normal – lived a human life, died a human death. Not superhuman, not alien, not especially endowed in any sense – a Jew from theGalilee, with a name and a family. When you read in the newspapers or hear in the news about Palestine, the West Bank, Jordan and Jerusalem, that is where Jesus lived and breathed and ate and slept and walked and did all the things humans do, including dying – right there. Until he was 30 he could walk down the street basically unnoticed – Joey’s son, the carpenter’s apprentice.

Nobody on the ground would have thought anything other than that Jesus was a man.

• They were amazed at his teaching.
• They were stunned at his authority.
• They were angry at his claims.
• They followed him around because he was incredible.
• No one talked like him.
• No one did the things he could do.
• No one made the claims he did – outrageous claims for any human and yet strangely compelling for Jesus.
• No one gathered such a following.
• No one talked to storms with the expectation that they would obey him.
• No one else cast out demons simply by telling them to leave.
• No one healed the blind by spitting on the ground and using the mud on the blind eyes.
• No one expressed rage at the use of the temple, as though it were a personal affront.

But not one person assumed that Jesus was anything other than a man.

They saw him on a daily basis. He ate like they did, slept when he was tired, used the toilet, drank water, bathed daily, walked like everyone else, wore clothing, rode donkeys, built things out of wood with his hands. Jesus wasn’t Harry Potter – he didn’t wave a wand when people’s backs were turned and turn trees into furniture.  Jesus was a man with limitations. When he wanted to go from one end of  Jerusalem to another he walked – just like everyone else. When people were sick or died he was filled with concern and compassion. When his friend Lazarus died he wept. Jesus didn’t wander around in a kind of calm, cool and collected daze like Mr Spock, able to deal with everything unemotionally and logically. People affected him. Obstinacy frustrated him. Self-righteousness infuriated him. Simple faith thrilled him. In fact Jesus seemed more human than most – more emotional, passionate, fiery, compassionate – but still, unmistakably a man.

Understanding Jesus as Human

It’s odd – given all that, that we find it hard to understand Jesus as a man. He is God, Son of God, King, Word, and High priest – any of those titles that remove him from our earthly realm. But the more you read about Jesus the more human he seems. Don’t read through eyes that know how the story ends. Read the story of Jesus through eyes that are wondering where this is leading. Understand the man who walked, talked, lived on earth.

Imagine you’re face to face with him.  Despite everything you’ve heard, he’s a Jew – male, 30 years old – short but strong, big arms and shoulders, long hair, beard, often dirty from long walks on dusty roads – he looks like everyone else. Where’s the 30 foot tall shining king who will crush the Romans, who heals the sick as he rides around on his white horse? How did this man heal anyone? How did this man stop a storm – surely that’s fiction? Come to think of it, why do the religious leaders want to kill him? He’s no one – he’s fromGalilee – who cares what he says – they’re all mad down there anyway.

The more you look at Jesus the harder he is to understand. Everyone  in Jerusalem is talking about the Roman occupation – Jesus says almost nothing about it.  Instead he gets a whip and drives out the thieving religious con men from the temple. He urged obedience to the Law of Moses yet had a reputation as a law-breaker. He could be moved with sympathy for a stranger, yet turns on his best friend with the rebuke “get behind me Satan”. He had uncompromising views on rich men and adulterous women, and yet was a friend to both. Jesus must have been real – no one would invent such a character.

The Final Stupidity

You come to the ultimate stupidity – the cross – the foundation of Christianity.

Jesus who everyone knows has done nothing wrong – great teacher, heals the sick, loves the unlovable, being executed for a crime he never committed. Everyone knew he’d been sold out, that the crimes were fabricated, that men had lied. Yet there he is hanging on that ugly piece of wood – his mother, and brothers and friends a little way off, confused, sick to the stomach, wondering what on earth has gone wrong, in despair – what do we do now?

The one hanging on that cross is a human – “The Passion” gets that right and in gruesome detail. This is a man being subjected to a painful death.  He sweats, he bleeds, he suffers, feels the pain and agony. All the torment of being crucified – and there are less painful and degrading ways to die – Jesus experiences all. And there’s the spiritual agony of knowing God’s wrath was being poured out on himself, that the punishment for every sin was being laid on Jesus shoulders at that very moment of his physical death. Who died on the cross? A man – not a superhero, not someone uniquely able to deal with the pain – a man!

And then a man rises from the dead. The one who walks out of the tomb is Jesus – born of a woman, lived and died and raised from the dead by God his Father as a man. It’s unbelievable isn’t it? No one rises from the dead. In all the funerals I’ve taken not one has ever opened the coffin and walked away. Death is irreversible – like popping a balloon? “Daddy my balloon burst – please fix it?” “Sorry – I can’t.” You can’t reverse the irreversible. You cannot rise from the dead.

Jesus did.

Walking on the Moon?

Our history is full of events that changed the course of history and life – wars, technology, landing on the moon, transport, communication, computers, science, medicine and more! Many great men and women have touched the lives of people – but in the death and resurrection of Jesus we see the greatest single event in history.  Just a man dying – nothing particularly unusual, happens to most people. Except in this death we see sin and death defeated. In the resurrection we see victory over our mortal enemies.

Which would all mean very little if the passion were simply an historical event. We could read it with the same level of disinterest we might read about the building of the Great Wall of China, or the life of Caesar.  But Jesus positioned himself as the dividing point of life. According to Jesus, what I think about him and how I respond will determine my eternity.

Matthew 10:32-33 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.”

In Jesus we see God stretching himself out on the dissecting table and saying, “Examine me. Test me. Make a decision.”

What is the point of the greatest event ever to happen on this planet? The point is you – your life, your salvation, and your future – your decision. No other event has so affected history and this world than the death and resurrection of Jesus. But what Jesus is interested in is how it affects you. He stands before us as a man who died and rose again so that all who believe in him would have life and salvation for eternity. Jesus says to each of us – “Follow me.”

If you have never taken the opportunity to respond to Jesus then do so today. If you have already but you know that you need to once again turn back and repent and be in step with Jesus.

Dummies Guide to Money

The Tax Man

Luke 19:1-4 “Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.”

Zacchaeus – short, dumpy (?), rich, middle aged, successful, balding (?), hard nosed, tough as nails, in your face, tax collector – no offense but I’m thinking Danny D’vito in the first century. Jericho was a major tax collection centre and Zacchaeus apparently a successful tax collector – a chief collector so maybe he had others working for him, or maybe he was just exceptional at his job. His name means “clean” or “innocent”… possibly in the sense that a baby is?!

He’s not well liked – clearly he’s a sinner, and from people’s opinions a sinner of sinners… he is a traitor to Israel – he has enemies – he has few friends – he is a thief and scum and he’s protected by the Roman system. He preys on his fellow Jews – he collects their hard earned cash to give to the Roman invaders and he takes a solid cut for himself.

“One for the Romans, one for me.”

“One for the Romans… hmmm… it’s been a hard week this week – so many bills…. two for me.”

All that… yet something is obviously not working out for him – mid life crisis, emptiness inside, maybe he’s working out that riches aren’t everything and that he needs something more…? Whatever it is he climbs a tree to see Jesus.

A sycamore tree!

Zacchaeus is middle aged probably – 40’s – some of us know what that’s like, some of us wish that we were closer to the beginning of our 40’s rather than the end of them… but I have to say it’s been some time since I climbed a tree? In our 40’s most of us are not as nimble as we once were. As a kid I could spend all afternoon high up in the Mulberry tree next door – massive thing – covered the whole backyard. But now – it would be embarrassing – clumsy, humiliating, probably painful… in front of a crowd…?! Not a good look.

Luke 19:5-6 “When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.”

Jesus knew his name! Meeting a celebrity is one thing – Zacc would have been happy to catch a glimpse – but – Jesus knows his name. He climbs down and welcomes Jesus into his home – gladly?

The people aren’t too glad – they want Jesus to use their values.

Luke 19:7 “…the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ‘sinner.’”

Our value systems leave a lot to be desired – we base decisions on jobs, colour of skin, social standing, country of origin, beauty and ugliness, height, popularity, sporting prowess – anything we can find that in reality has no value. The Jews were the same – on the road into Jericho they tell a blind man to shut up when he calls out for Jesus to heal him – compassionate…! Zacchaeus WAS a traitor and a sinner – he stole from his own people – he wouldn’t have been welcome in the Temple, though it probably wasn’t high on his list of priorities – he’d sold his soul to the Romans.

Luke 19:8 “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

STOP

Zacchaeus doesn’t happen in a vacuum – the story is the last one of 8 related stories – they share a common theme – not of money but of reversal. In chapter 18 we start with the parable of the persistent widow – it’s about prayer – but it has a kick in the tale – a question from Jesus.

Luke 18:8 “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

Will he find faith? Remembering that he came to the ‘people of God’ so faith would be something of a given… surely? The story that follows is the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the Temple… then followed by Jesus demanding the disciples allow the little children to come to him… then the rich young ruler. We meet the blind beggar, then Zacchaeus and then the parable of the talents – the king who leaves his stewards in charge of investing his money. Altogether these parables and meetings come before Jesus entering into Jerusalem as the triumphant king.

So the question…

Luke 18:8 “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

What about the Pharisee praying in the Temple – a serious religious man – Paul says of his own standing before God that he is 100% perfect as far as the law is concerned – I guess this Pharisee thinks along the same lines… he looks down on the self confessed sinful tax collector next to him.

Luke 19:11 “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.”

Totally assured of his own faith, blind to his position before God – “God will be impressed with me…”! Jesus says …no faith here – but the tax collector… he humbled himself before God and went home right with God – mercy was asked for and given.

The disciples try to stop the little children coming to Jesus – he not only demands they desist, but welcomes them openly into his arms – that’s a great picture of heaven? Jesus declares…

Luke 19:17 “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

Question: will the Son of Man find faith?

Yes! But not in the proud and religious! In the sinners! In the socially irrelevant – the children! The tax collector understood his desperate plight and need for mercy. Children understand dependence.

The rich young ruler comes to Jesus.

Luke 19:18 “…Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

He is good, moral, upright – perfect in human terms. Only has to sell all he owns and follow Jesus. But sadly he cannot give up what he has devoted his whole life to obtaining. Wealth gives power, status, comfort, security – it’s hard to walk away.

Luke 19:23 “When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

It’s impossible… well no – but extremely hard for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven!

Luke 19:26 “Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Luke 19:27 “Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

The RYR walks away – unchanged – it is hard for those who rely on money to give up the thing that supplies their worth, their value, their identity. The disciples ask the logical question – if the good man can’t get in to heaven unless he sells everything – what happens to people like the disciples who aren’t perfect but have given up everything? Need to reverse the values!

Luke 19:29-30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus said to them, “no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

As Jesus approaches Jericho the blind man calls out to him…

Luke 19:38 “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Lord… I want to see!”

Luke 19:42 “Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.”

You realize the irony in this story don’t you? The only one in the great crowd of people whose eyes were open – who could see clearly… was the blind man! He’s been calling out to Jesus, Son of David, Lord – he’s the only one to actually see the truth. He brings no status or wealth, no position – he is outside the bounds of society – an irrelevance, cursed by God with blindness. He is not the upright RYR who also calls Jesus Lord. He’s not the self righteous Pharisee. He has no wealth – in fact the opposite – he is completely destitute – but he receives God’s mercy when the ‘good’ people don’t.

The Heart

The heart of these stories is the great reversal of verses 31-34.

Luke 19:31-33 “Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.”

The great reversal – the Lord, King, Saviour, Master, Teacher, Son of God, Son of Man, Creator, sustainer – the one who could, should expect to be honoured as king, to enter triumphantly and be worshipped – instead… mocked, insulted, spat upon, flogged and killed.

Why does Jesus die in our place?

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Salvation & Money

Zacchaeus, the other tax collector, the blind man, the children – the “lost”. Zacchaeus somehow knows he’s in trouble – he climbs a tree to see Jesus… and given the opportunity he gladly welcomes Jesus into his home. What does that mean?

In the context of these stories and people – what does it mean to gladly welcome Jesus in?

Luke 19:8 “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

His gladness is not some private emotion – his gladness leads him to act. He generously gives away ½ his wealth in response to salvation – it’s an act of recognition. He obviously knows his wealth is stopping him – he sees the chance to make a new start, to be forgiven. Maybe that’s why he climbed the tree – he was empty – along comes the Son of Man – opportunity! Like the blind man… takes his one chance as Jesus walks by. He responds to salvation by giving away ½ – he repays all those he has cheated 4 times the amount. He must have had great records! At one level he is simply being a good Jew and responding to the law – Exodus 22:2 demanded a four-fold payment for a stolen sheep. But we can see that it is much more than that – he is bringing his lord and master – that is… money – he is bringing his old lord and master to the feet of his king – bringing it under the Lordship of Jesus.

Luke 19:9-10 “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

The Dummies Guide to Money

The Dummies Guide to Money is a practical guide – and a simple one – and that’s realistic.

1. Money makes us dumb – we think it gives us freedom and power – therefore the more the better. Instead it takes away our willpower to make the wisest choices. In Luke 18 and 19 is it the rich people who are better off – or the poor people?
2. Money is a god – for rich people… for poor people… for middle class – for us. We hear all the time that money has become the basis of everything in society – user-pays – shareholder profits. That should show us how clever money is. We know the problem – but we refuse to do anything about it because at the end of the day money has become god. Some money is good, more money is better! In Australia according to the reports the majority of increased shareholder profits in the past few years have gone to the mum and dad investors – and personal super funds. We have identified the problem – but we are the ones benefiting! Money is god when we allow it to decide our ethics and our morals. As Jesus says for the Rich Young Ruler – money made his choices for him!

Luke 18:24-25 “Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

3. Money has power! The Rich Young Ruler walks away sad because his money has power over him. Sure… we’re not rich like he was – but money still has power and we still succumb to it. He relied on his money. To gain salvation he had to give up his lord and master and accept Jesus. If money is making the decisions about faith and salvation then we’re in trouble. Its only power is that it can keep us away from God.
4. Money calls out to money – you can never have enough. Are you satisfied with life? If you keep wanting more and more then has money already won? If you are never really satisfied then who’s winning? Can you imagine being made happy, being made content… by giving away ½ of your wealth?
5. Investing is dangerous! We have to invest wisely – money, time, education, family, church – every resource we have is to be invested. But God says – invest in the kingdom. So… are we? Like many ministers my superannuation will eventually be the way we buy a home. We’ve set up a super fund. The projections look good – thanks for asking. It’s important to get it right? But it can also be all consuming. To work out what to do I bought a financial magazine – and reading it is compelling… and much of it sounds like good advice. It told me I can save $1 a day per child till they are 21 and set them on the path to having a million dollars by the time they’re 50. Wish my dad had done that – couple of years to go and we’re sitting sweet – money, money, money! Except he didn’t! Sounds so insignificant – $1/day. Good advice? Or dangerous territory? What about investing with World Vision… about $1/day can feed, clothe, educate and provide for an African child and their family. So where is the best place for me to spend a dollar a day – for the kingdom of God? A million for my kids by the time they are 50 or a family fed, clothed, housed, educated and evangelised, and given a future? A good friend said to me recently – you have to ask yourself when you’re investing… where’s the trusting in God part?

Zacchaeus spent his adult life with money as master – he sold his soul and everything else to gain cash. His motto was Greed is good! We aren’t like Zacchaeus! Well… we are if we follow the world’s rules when it comes to money.

• Do you need that promotion? Will it give you more or less time for ministry and family?
• The overseas trip – a good use of money? The world says it is! How is it worthwhile for the kingdom of God?
• What job gives you the most money? What job gives you the most time for the kingdom?
• New car – a worthwhile investment? A kingdom investment?
• Christmas shopping nights at big department stores where they ply you with free champagne – celebration or do you feel compelled or even tipsy so that you spend more. Good choice?
• New low interest credit card – how will it help you build the kingdom?
• And the list could go on…

Zacchaeus used his money wisely – he gave up half – an unquestioning spur of the moment choice – based on the fact that money was winning and the only way to stop it… is to give it up. He pays back all those he has wronged. Was he still wealthy? Who knows? But what he did was to bring even his money under the Lordship of Jesus. He decides – and we know this is a hard thing for a rich man – the faithful, devout, good hearted Rich Young Ruler couldn’t do it… but Zacc decides to trust Jesus with his bank account. The Dummies Guide to Money says… trust Jesus with your cash – even when it hurts.

How hard is it for a rich man to get into heaven? About the same as a camel going through the eye of a needle! Zacchaeus is a camel!

What is impossible for man – is not impossible for God – he can change even those for whom money is god.

Luke 19:9 “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”

The way you treat money is a sure sign of where you stand with Jesus – and your eternity hangs on it. Be generous with it for the kingdom of God and be wary of it in every other circumstance.

How do you wake a sleeping giant? Spiritual Gifts 1

We are God’s workmanship!

How do you feel about yourself – do you like who you are? Are you gifted? Are you an introvert or an extravert, an optimist or a pessimist – a little of both? Are you clever, cute, bright, smart, talented, special, beautiful, handsome – all of the above – or maybe the opposite? In our world if you’re one of the beautiful people then it’s all yours – if not?

So many children are growing up thinking that they have no value unless they can be certain things or do certain things or get to a certain level of life. Every day in shopping centres you can see at least one of the reasons… parents who abuse their kids emotionally and mentally, using every name they can think of, and a few we’d rather not. In western culture we worry so much about smacking or caning or other forms of physical punishment – but in my experience many more children suffer to a far greater degree from emotional and mental abuse (without for a moment excusing or condoning any form of physical abuse). So many people can’t get a handle on their life because parents never told them how much they were loved, how special they were, how wonderfully they were made.

Do you know – regardless of how we see ourselves, or how our parents or other important people see us – God sees us as his workmanship – wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:14 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

And as David goes on to say in the Psalm not just wonderfully made but created from the very start, known to God from before the very beginning of time and creation, and woven together in the womb with God watching over his creation. As we read in Ephesians…

Ephesians 2:10a “For we are God’s workmanship…”

Maybe that’s easy to see – if you’ve watched the program called “The Body” it’s hard to imagine how you can’t see. For many of us God creating and working his magic in this world is the only possible answer – the human body is just too amazing, as is the world and the universe. But there’s more to it than just our bodies, or the wonder of life.

Ephesians 2:10 “…created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Whatever the opinion of this world, whatever we have been lead to believe about ourselves, good or bad, God says that having become his children in Jesus, having trusted in Christ for salvation and moved from being God’s enemies to being God’s friends, he has remade us in Christ so that we can now start to fulfil his original design. We were created from scratch to do good works that God prepared for us before we were even a twinkle in our parent’s eyes. This is about how we fulfil the mission God has given us – how the church fulfils its mission in this world. I like to use Ephesians 4 as a guide for the life of the church – not the only one but I really like this.

Ephesians 4:12-13 “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

That’s God’s plan! And God has given us the means to carry it out – not one or two people able to fulfill his plans – but churches full. It is not the few who are wonderfully made and who are God’s workmanship – it is all – everyone – all creation. Every person is made to perfectly match God’s plans – in fact created in the image of God – made with purpose. So we read in 1 Corinthians…

1 Corinthians 12:1 “Now about spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be ignorant.”

Who is Paul writing to?

The whole church – the same as in Ephesians when he says we are God’s workmanship, the same in Romans when he says we have different gifts but one body. What does he says to the whole church about Spiritual Gifts?

1 Corinthians 12:2-3 “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I want you to understand no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except in the Holy Spirit.”

What can we say about these Spiritual Gifts – without going further than the Scriptures do?

1.      Spiritual Gifts Are Given To Glorify God

Paul sets the stage by declaring that the purpose of Spiritual Gifts is to glorify God – especially designed to help us declare Jesus is Lord over all other gods – the mute idols that Paul talks about. The Corinthians came from a pagan, idol worshipping background, where spiritual utterances and demonic activity were par for the course – the cultic priests claimed all sorts of spiritual powers. The way to know that the spiritual gifts of the church are real – is by what they declare! No one speaking by the Holy Spirit can curse Jesus – no one speaking without God’s Spirit can declare Jesus as Lord. When the chips are down and life is threatened – you will only declare Jesus as Lord by the power of God.

The real evidence of God’s presence is not the gifts and the power that we so often seem to associate with the Spirit. The real evidence is Jesus proclaimed as Lord. Whatever takes away from the glory of God, whatever tears down or destroys the unity of the church, or damages the name of Jesus, even if it appears to be legitimately from God’s Holy Spirit – if it does not glory God and proclaim Jesus’ name then it has no place in the church. This is how we will know the work of the Spirit amongst us. As we start to learn about the gifts themselves we see…

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 “There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but the same God empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

2.      Spiritual Gifts Are Given For The Good Of All

How will we know that the gifts we exercise are from God?

By their fruit!

1 Corinthians 12:7 “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Just as we know a good fruit tree when we see one – the product tells us everything we need to know.

It’s not that everyone has to have the same gifts, or start at the bottom and work your way up to the top of the gifts pile. In fact there is an array of gifts given to the church – everything we need to fulfill God’s plans of maturity and growth for us – that is His promise to us.

2 Peter 1:3 “God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

So many people believe that faith is a private thing and that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian. Nothing could be further from the truth – not least that you don’t stick a light in a cupboard – how useless is that? Why become a Christian with gifts from God for the good of his people – the church – and then not use them? Faith is not private – it’s designed to be shared with all, as scary as that may be at times. Together Christians make up the body of Christ – arms, legs, back, head, shoulders, feet, heart, lungs, eyes, nostrils, hair follicles –

1 Corinthians 12:12 “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”

Together the body of Christ serves to strengthen and build up the whole body so that together the body matures. If there is one thing a body is designed to do it’s to work together for the common good. If your spleen goes on holidays for 6 weeks where does that leave you?

3.      Spiritual Gifts are given as God determines

1 Corinthians 12:8-11 “To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit – gifts of healing by that one Spirit – miraculous powers – prophecy – distinguishing between spirits – speaking in different kinds of tongues – the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.

In distributing the gifts of the Spirit God doesn’t listen to the world. Thank God!!!! (And yes – I really do mean that). The criterion is not wealth or cleverness, how beautiful or wonderful we are, how much people like us or how famous we are. God has given every Christian gifts of the Spirit according to his plan and designs – just as he determines, as he decides.

The danger the church faced for many centuries was that they taught that it was the professionals who were gifted by God to serve in the church – the priests, the monks and nuns and so on. They alone did God’s work and the job of the congregation was to be obedient, to fill the pews and provide the cash (I now the time to take up the offertory??!) J And back then if you did get involved in ministry it was helping the priest or doing the flowers or the food or raising money through fetes, or distributing food to the widows or the needy – all good stuff but from the churches point of view back then – not the main game. Sadly we still see the same thing in some churches – it’s hard to imagine how they justify it when the Bible is so blatantly clear that God gives gifts to all Christians for service and ministry. Every part is as important as any other; every ministry and servant is important and valuable.

The Sleeping Giant

So “How do we wake a sleeping giant” – not the fee-fie-foe-fum variety – rather the largest company in the world, with combined income and numbers Bill Gates would sell his soul for?

You!

The church!

The company of believers!

Every survey I’ve ever seen on ministry by people in the pews – not the paid staff of a church – suggests that most churches have less than 20% of people involved in the ministry of the church – it’s called the 20/80 rule and as far as I can tell it’s a pretty good indicator not only of ministry but of money, energy, time, support. And that is a sleeping giant!

Why do people in the church not get involved?

Too tired, worn out, busy in work and family?

Too scared, or afraid of mistakes, too young, too old?

Too immature, done too much already, not enough work to do in the church, don’t know what to do, can’t find a spot to serve, never had the opportunity, never took the opportunity, was cut down when I took the opportunity – badly burnt by past experiences?

All these may be true in your life – but let me say they don’t stack up too well as excuses.

If someone gives you a gift for your birthday or Christmas – what do you do with it? If you don’t open it what value does it have – and what does that say to the giver? You can admire the paper, read the card, and rattle the box to work out what it is – but while it’s wrapped it’s basically meaningless. The only way to deal with a present is to open it and use it.

It’s the same with God and his church – he has given gifts to every single person who belongs to him – if you tick the box “Christian” – “follower of Jesus” then you also tick the box “gifted by God for his church”. So what are you doing with it?

If you answer “nothing” what’s going on? Do you not believe God? He says he has given gifts to every person who is a Christian. So is he right or not? Have you tried and failed? Cause if you have I bet you have also said to a child to get back on a bike after falling off, or back on the horse, or suggested (or just thought) someone should face their fears?! Have you been cut down or unappreciated? Has your minister or another leader had a go at you for getting it wrong or not being very good or for failing? If so – give them a boot in the backside from me and tell them to support you as you try rather than having a go at you when you fail. And if you want to do something and are scared then ask for prayer and support – from minister, family, friends… get some training, do a course, get some practice in with someone you can trust, start small, volunteer to assist someone else who is doing it, give it a go. And if you have no idea what your particular gifts may be then ask for help and make sure your minister or leader gives it to you.

Around the world the evangelical church is growing – slowly, but faster than most churches. But imagine what would be happening if every single Christian used their gifts from God for the benefit of the church. Imagine your own church with the 80/20 rule reversed – if every person was using what God has given us to serve his people.

Churches should bloom not by the ministers’ energy or strength – such as they are – but by the enthusiastic use of the gifts God has given us – churches should be so committed to God’s plan that nothing could stop us using what God has given us.

The church should be able to tattoo this to our foreheads – that we are a church that is preparing…

Eph 4:12-13 “God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

Myth Busters – Christianity is Simply a Crutch

Christian myths – or myths about Christianity – or myths propagated by Christians and those opposed – what is reality, what do we/should we believe, what is the truth about some of the claims made by or about Christians? Myth busters is a great fun TV series – but also a great idea. What is true? What’s not? What is plausible, proven or busted? Christians should ask these questions constantly. Test the Spirit – don’t just swallow everything you hear uncritically!

A Little Faith

Whenever you see scenes in mainstream movies about Christian faith (try… “The Day After Tomorrow” 1.20.40ff or “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” 21.55ff) there’s an underlying theme that Christianity is for fools and the weak – for people who are tricked into giving their time, money and allegiance to something pathetic. The scene from “The Day after Tomorrow” has an actor trying to preserve an original Guttenberg Bible – doesn’t believe in God but believes in man’s ability to reason and conquer. “I want to save something of Western civilisation.” Or Indiana Jones asks his boss… “Do you believe?” “At my age I’m willing to take a few things on faith”.

• Faith fills in the gaps when you have nothing else!?
• It’s my support when I can’t fight my own battles, or I face fears that I can’t deal with some other way.
• Only people who can’t stand on their own need to put their trust in a God you can’t see or hear – a god who can’t possibly be good.
• Evil in the world proves that god doesn’t exist so believing in a god is blindly putting aside all reason.
• We’re on our own and Christians need to join the 21^st century.
• Is Christianity an escape from reality – and insurance policy for losers?
• Is your faith simply a crutch?

As you think about this – ask yourself…

• What does the world think of Christians?
• What do your non-Christian peers, family and friends think of Christians?
• Is Christianity just a crutch?
• Do those around you think that you are showing your weakness by “trusting” in Jesus?

Is Christianity for the Weak

People who proclaim Christianity is for losers and the weak are making a pile of assumptions that we can deal with – assumptions that are based on power and confidence. They assume…

1. That all faith is blind
2. That they are powerful and require no support
3. That what they have confidence in is the right foundation for life

Christian Faith

Let’s start with faith – what is it? Christian faith is about personal trust. We entrust ourselves to the God of the Bible – we have a personal relationship with the God – not simply a friendship – we depend on God for our very existence and for our salvation.

Ephesians 2:4-5 “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Faith in Jesus starts with a right understanding of our world. This is not a matter of blindness but of seeing the truth clearly. We are not the people God created us to be – rather than following God we abandoned his ways and went gone our own way.

Ephesians 2:1-2a “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…”

But through Jesus’ death and resurrection we have assurance that he has reconciled us to God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-18a “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…”

Faith in Christ means we see truly. Without Jesus we are rebellious and broken people in need of healing. With Jesus we are given the assurance that he is sovereign over all things, that his kingdom is coming, and that he is returning us to the arms of the one holy and loving God.

Necessary Crutches

All of this says that in one sense Christian faith is a crutch! But a crutch is a necessary support. The problem isn’t with Christianity being a crutch – the question is why people think it’s a valid criticism. Crutches are what you use when you can’t stand on your own. Broken a leg or had to use crutches? I did for 6 weeks or so. I couldn’t get around on my own two feet. In a sense it’s a great description of Christianity. We start our walk with Christ by admitting that we are broken and can’t deal with sin and the consequences. Left to our own devices we will perish – and we have to come to the point where we can recognise and admit that. Accepting Jesus is accepting his strength and power to deal with our brokenness.

So even though the idea of Christianity being a crutch is meant as an insult – it really is simply the truth. The implication is that we should be tough and face life, cope with the realities of this world without any assistance. Fact is we wouldn’t hesitate to use crutches for a broken leg – those who see the truth of this world accept Jesus because he is the only way to survive.

We can understand why people don’t want to look weak and accept Christ. It’s because most people in our western world operate under the assumption that they are powerful and strong – or that they should be. That’s what our society promotes – never let weakness be shown. We take pity on weakness – we push students getting ahead by your own strength and power. We have this mistaken understanding of the world that we are in control. That’s the first thing we have to give up under Christ – the mistaken belief that we are in control.

Romans 5:6, 8 “…at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly … God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

The Bible shows us that all people are broken and incomplete – physically, mentally and spiritually. None of us can stand on our own – and most importantly in the one thing that matters, none of us can stand guiltless before God on our own. Jesus said that he came to save those who recognised their lack of power and control.

Mark 2:17 “…Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

If we wish to survive this life then we have to recognise our lack of power and lean on Christ. When we go it alone we fall flat. It is only while we are on crutches that God’s healing hand restores us and finally brings us in transformed, resurrected glory to himself. Jesus says:

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

A Right Foundation

In the end it comes down to where your confidence lays – in something that works or something unproven. If you put your confidence in yourself then God says you will fail. Not one of us is good enough to stand before God, answer for our sins, pay for our sins and then survive – but that choice exists for people. We have to come to the realisation that we are not powerful or in control, and we certainly are not good enough and can’t be.

We may baulk at the idea that Christianity is crutch – and that’s fair – to us Christ is simply the truth. But the danger would be to replace it with some other word that makes us somehow a little powerful or a little responsible for our salvation. The truth is that without the gospel as our support and foundation we would sink. We talk about growing in Christ, of deepening our relationship with God, even of being swept up in praise of our Savior and Lord. We forget that we only walk and run with Jesus by his power.

Isaiah 40:30-31 “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Myth Busters – All Religions are The Same

Religion – All Roads Lead To Rome

A Jew, a Baptist and an Anglican were discussing how they worked out their tithe each week. The Anglican said that he drew a square on the ground, threw the money up in the air and anything that landed in the square he gave to God. The Baptist was much the same, but being freer in his thinking he would throw the money in the air and whatever landed outside the square he gave to God. The Jew said they were both mad. He would stand in the square and throw the money in the air… and whatever God caught God kept.

What Does a Christian Believe?

• We believe in one God – the Father the Almighty – creator and sustainer.
• We believe in one Lord – Jesus Christ – truly God, truly man who died for our sins and is alive and coming back to judge of all.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit who is one with the Father and the Son and has been sent by both Father and Son to call us to life and to speak through the prophets.

One God, three persons. Equal yet different – the Father did not die on the cross, the Son did create the universe, the Holy Spirit points to the Son and caused the Scriptures to be written.

What do people you know say about religion?

Plenty of people think that all religions are the same – if they think about it at all. All religions are simply different expressions of one truth. Especially in western thinking, no religion has an exclusive claim to the truth. So Christians and Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Baha’is, Shintoists and Atheists all believe the same thing – and we should just get on with peace and harmony.

Is that true? Are all religions the same?

Activity

Have a think – maybe talk to some people.

• Write down all the religions you can think of and just one thing you’re pretty sure those religions believe.
• What do people you know world think of organised religion?

Reality

The reality is most people have no idea what religions teach – only what the tv tells them. We can actually see that pretty clearly – western Buddhism looks almost nothing like Eastern Buddhism – and western Buddhism tends to be a caricature of what Buddhists seem to believe on TV. In many cases Western Buddhism looks like a spiritual capitalism.

Anyway – it’s true to the outside observer that religions can look remarkably similar to each other. Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship one God – Monotheism – one God. So people say… isn’t it the same God just with different names? We see the Muslims praying. We see Jews praying – what’s the difference? Obviously there are extreme Muslims who obviously aren’t following God’s plans. And the Jews aren’t exactly innocent, but then neither were the Christians in years gone by. Are they all just pointing to the same God?

What about the other religions? There are 5 main types of belief – including monotheism.

• Hinduism and Buddhism say that there is no God. You become one with the universe by self sacrifice.
• Tribal and folk religions are called Polytheism – many gods and spirits.
• Ying and Yang – Taoism – the dualistic religions – good and evil in balance.
• Atheism is the belief there is no god – so Marxism, Communism and secular humanism. If you go to the secular universities in Australia you will come under the influence of secular humanism.

Spiritual Hunger

Most religions are dropping in numbers, especially in the Western world. There are a couple of exceptions, though they probably aren’t the ones you think. But spirituality is on the rise. There is a hunger in many people to find ways to deal with life – religion and capitalism can’t help. Many people who turned to Eastern religions in the 60’s and 70’s are now turning to new age spiritualism – new in that it’s been around for about 6000 years. Spirituality in the modern western world is very much like jelly – it wobbles all over the place and can be any shape you like. People mean by ‘spirituality’ whatever they want. They include devil worship, tarot cards, crystals, meditation, yoga, vegetarianism, self actualisation – whatever that is. It’s all about following your “inner spiritual path”. In Sydney each year there is a “Body Mind and Spirit Festival” – more than ½ million visitors each year. There was a “blessed medallion” on ebay a few years back that was ‘guaranteed’ to bring the wearer good luck and spiritual peace. It sold for almost $2000. There is no lack of desire for the “spiritual” aspect of life.

In fact what is happening is that an old form of religion is reviving – multi-spirituality – people wanting to determine their own spiritual path to peace and happiness. Spirituality comes from whatever pursuit you choose – as long as you are faithful to that god/spiritual path then you are spiritual.

Do all these paths get to the same God? Are all religions the same?

The Problem

The thing is – as soon as you start investigating you can see that religions have statements of faith that are in direct opposition to each other. And oddly – for most religions that’s ok by them. Moderate Muslims – not the fundamentalists – they believe that Christians, Jews and Muslims all worship the same god – but the Jews and the Christians just need to learn the true name of God. The Bahia religion expects you to worship how you want and to whom you want when you go to a Bahia temple. I visited one once – it felt evil to me – and I’m not that sort of person who gets those sensations. Hindus and Buddhists don’t really care who you worship as long as you are seeking a right path. [P] Are they all the same?

No! And we know because of the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ.

What’s Different About Christianity?

I could do the old one liner – Christianity’s not a religion. It’s a relationship. That’s true enough but it’s only a starting place. Jesus and responding to Jesus is what makes Christianity different.

1 John 4:9-10 “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1. John reminds us that Jesus’ birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection are historical events, not mythical. We have good evidence for all of them, including the resurrection. Without Jesus there would be no Christianity – unlike all other religions which are about teaching and practice. It’s what you do and learn and how you act that will determine your future. We are focussed on Jesus’ death and resurrection and his act of salvation.

1 Cor 15:17 “…if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.”

This is unique to Christianity. Second…

John 1:14-15 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

• What’s different is we received the one and only Son of God. God became flesh and dwelt with us. Jesus was God incarnate – the word of the week – use it in conversation. It means that he wasn’t simply a representative, or even an image of God, like a statue come to life. Jesus was God in the flesh – dwelling in person on earth.

John 14:9 “Jesus answered: … Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.”

• All religions – even atheism – claim that mankind has a problem. All of them claim that the solution is human effort. Even Catholicism claims this. Jesus declares that our problem is far worse – we are spiritually dead – and unless we accept his life for ours and start living through him then we will remain dead.

Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

• All religions claim we become one with god/universe etc by our own effort. It’s the great Aussie lie! She’ll be right! God and I are mates. But that is patently untrue. God has a zero tolerance policy with sin. He declared the punishment for sin is death and separation from him for eternity.

Habakkuk 1:13 “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”

God is 100% Holy. His holiness and love are not demonstrated as the world wants them to be in leniency. He demonstrated his love for us by sending his Son to pay the price of our sin.

• The kicker is this. Salvation does not come by moral hard work – it is a free gift.

Romans 1:17a “For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last…”

Do you know what you lose when you try to make salvation dependant on us rather than God?

Assurance!

The more my salvation depends on me the less I will be sure because I know myself. I know where I fail. That’s why Hinduism is so cruel. You are reincarnated into a body that reflects your previous life. Make even little mistakes and you come back as a slug, or a cat. That’s why cows are sacred – there goes Auntie Bessie. That’s cruel – no hope, no assurance.

God offers us hope based on His character not ours – on his holiness. Because God loves us he sent his son – it’s not that we loved God. As we come to understand that there is no way that we can live up to God’s standards – as we come to release that we only have hope by entrusting Jesus with our lives – then we will come to understand the assurance we have in Christ. Our salvation depends on Him who chose us rather than me being good.

Do All Roads Lead To Rome?

The Bible answers our question.

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

As the team would say on MythBusters – this myth is busted. We could do a lengthy comparative religions study – interesting but meaningless really except in understanding that Christianity is incredibly different. There is pretty much no similarity between the claims of Christianity and those of all other religions. There is no way to match up the claims of Christianity and the other religions.

It all comes down to this – the character of Jesus and the reality of his death and resurrection. That’s what we need to help people understand – the Bible makes clear claims based entirely on Jesus Christ.

Talking It Up

When we are talking to people who want to argue that all religions are the same we want to do two things.

1. We really want to pray. Obvious – Yes! The first thing that comes to mind? Maybe not! Whenever we are talking to people about Jesus we really want to be asking God to help us speak the truth in love, and for the Holy Spirit to make it clear to them. Without the Holy Spirit opening their eyes they will remain dead.
2. We want to focus entirely on Jesus and especially his death and resurrection. We want as best we can to answer their question, or complaints, but we also want to turn it as quickly as we can to Jesus – because the thing they have to deal with is that Jesus died and rose for them – if it’s true then they have to accept or reject knowing the claim Jesus is making on them and the consequences.

True safety – true faith – true life – true assurance rests in Jesus alone – he alone can save us from sin and death – he alone offers us hope that can never fade an inheritance that can never be destroyed. No other religion offers what Christ does.

Myth Busters – Faith Expectations – What Can Faith Really Do?

Christian myths – or myths about Christianity – or myths propagated by Christians and those opposed – what is reality, what do we/should we believe, what is the truth about some of the claims made by or about Christians – mythbusters is a great fun TV series – but also a great idea. What is true? What’s not? What is plausible, proven or busted? Christians should ask these questions constantly. Test the Spirit – don’t just swallow everything you hear uncritically!

So Little Faith

Matthew 17:14-21 “…a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“O unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

What can faith do?

Indiana Jones in “The Last Crusade” – faith is a blind trust to fate. He must (if you haven’t seen the movie then I’m about to spoil it for you)… he must step of a ledge into nothingness in an act of faith and trust – which is not so much faith in God, but rather trust that his father got it right. Is that what faith can do?

Faith can… move mountains, rebuke demons, heal sick kids – and raise the dead, stop the rain, start the rain, part the seas, change the course of rivers, bring food, change water to wine, knock down walls, defeat armies and avoid death. James writes…

James 5:13-15 “Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”

Through faith in Christ we inherit what has been promised to Jesus – we receive his inheritance by sharing in his glory – we receive life and freedom, we grab hold of the teachings about Jesus and we share the good news – by faith in Christ. We are to take hold of faith, to be known for our faith, to pursue faithfulness, to help others in their faith, to pray for greater/stronger/more faithful… faith, and more.

What People Say About Faith

Whatever the Bible says about faith, and its power, Christians believe a whole host of things about faith – and across the board Christians don’t agree amongst ourselves about the boundaries and abilities of faith.

Consider: what views are there about faith that you have heard? Maybe ask around and see what people believe?

Some of the things I’ve heard…

• “If you have enough faith you will be healed!” Meaning healing here on earth right now – and in most cases immediately! If you are not being healed then you do not have enough faith!?
• “If you have faith you will be wealthy!” Materially wealthy on earth! If you are not wealthy as a Christian then you are not acting in faith!?
• “Faith means having no doubts!” Doubting/questioning is a sign of faithlessness!?
• “Faith fixes everything. Before I came to Christ my life was a mess – but now nothing goes wrong – my life is amazing!” I have heard this so often it’s amazing. “Now, whenever I am going shopping I pray in faith that I will find a parking spot, and I always find a parking spot. That’s faith in action.”!?

A Year of Trying Times

We had a very hard 18 months a few years ago. We moved house (which is apparently right up there with the whole stress thing)… my grandmother died, I had a family member in increasing pain eventually requiring a major hip operation, I spent the 3 months working in pain with a back injury, followed by a month completely incapacitated by pain (flat on my back and for the first few days wanting God to take me), followed by 2 months of recovery and physiotherapy (I don’t know why the medieval world complained about the rack – did wonders for my back). To top it off I caught every bug going around because my immune system had been mucked about by the drugs. And then we were robbed, including my computer with about a year of sermon and teaching materials not backed up (my fault I know). Now – as a story – it’s not really up there with the worst ones – no earthquake or Tsunami destroying my life or livelihood, didn’t lose an arm or a leg surfing, didn’t get diagnosed with cancer – so I understand entirely there are people in far worse situations.

But – thinking about faith and the power of faith… I’ve been a Christian for over 35 years. I try to be faithful – but I’m not perfect. I’m certainly not lacking in faith – I believe what the Bible says about Jesus to be true and to be applicable to me – and I try to live by it. I live a faithful life – I am a minister and work pretty hard at not just my ministry but my personal growth in Christ and faithfulness to his service. And over the years my faith has stood the test any number of times – I am not going to change my mind, I hold my beliefs and faith very strongly (in so far as it’s up to me – and thankfully for the most part, it’s not).

But – thinking about the power of faith… what was happening?

If faith fixes everything then surely I’ve got a problem.

If the prayer of the righteous man that James talks about means immediate healing then I have a problem. My back problem was dealt with, without surgery, but it hasn’t gone away. I could stand to lose a good amount of weight and I’m sure that would help my back no end – but my back will still be damaged. Does that mean that I don’t have enough faith? Does that mean I have a problem in my relationship with Christ?

Well – if the answer is yea – then it’s also yes for pretty much every Christian. It would also be true for Paul the apostle, for Job in the OT, for Stephen the first Christian martyr, for the apostles – all of whom endured suffering without relief – or at least without relief for a significant period of time, and quite often suffering that ended not in miraculous healing or release, but in death. Paul says about himself…

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “…there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Paul had a thorn in his side – we don’t know what it was. But it was long term, made him suffer and he had to endure. However – is there anyone who would be dumb enough to say that Paul is anything other than a prime example in the Bible of faith? Others – us – are to follow in his footsteps – and frankly we’d be hard pressed to keep up with Paul. Who would have the hubris to say Paul lacked faith – or that his suffering was due to a lack of faith?

However – let’s go further. It’s not just the thorn that we should consider – it’s also Paul’s delight in weakness – a delight that confirms to him Christ’s power and strength. The thorn was a given under God’s sovereignty and for God’s purposes, though it was of Satan. From Satan’s point of view it was a torment – from God’s point of view it was to strengthen Paul’s faith, to make him rely on Jesus and to see that in his weakness Christ’s power was at work. Jesus says…

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Paul is an example of that – rest doesn’t mean the burden is gone – simply that in Christ’s strength and power and might and mercy the burdens of this world can be dealt with and be understood to be part of God’s power working in us to make us like Christ.

The example of Job

When it comes to suffering and faith the name of Job always seems to make an appearance – so not to disappoint… reality is Job is an amazing example.

Job 3:23-26 “Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.”

Read the story again – it has its moments and it’s a somewhat torturous path to get from beginning to end – when I read it I want to slap his 3 mates… but consider… he was in such mental, physical and spiritual agony that he wanted to die. Some of us have been there – even in small ways after a small amount of suffering – so I guess we might be able to understand, even a little, what brought him to that point of wishing for it to end. What do we know from the Scriptures about his suffering?

1. It was from Satan – Satan is not called the tormentor for nothing!
2. It was by God’s permission and under God’s control. Satan could do nothing unless permitted by God
3. It was a test of Job’s faith – a refining through suffering, like gold is purified of impurities!
4. God declares in the end that Job, above all men, was faithful and importantly – did not sin!

Job had to endure his suffering – and be freed from it in God’s own time. He cried out to God not only to be released but simply to understand and no answer came for a long time. He was faithful yet suffered – and lest we think otherwise God very clearly declares him to be his most faithful servant – yet he suffered. Job had faith – I guess from our perspective faith far greater than the size of a mustard seed – faith that could move mountains… yet he suffered terribly!

The Example of Jesus

What about Jesus? Jesus’ own suffering is surely our greatest example. We’d be pretty game and foolish to declare that Jesus lacked faith. Yet he suffered! He suffered and died an agonising death.

Matthew 17:20-22a “He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” I don’t really understand why, when we read that passage, that we don’t read what comes next?

I don’t really understand why, when we read that passage, that we don’t read what comes next?

Matthew 17:22b-23 “When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.”

If anyone had faith to move mountains – surely Jesus had enough – not that he did it – but enough to walk on water, enough to wither fig trees, enough to heal the sick, enough to cast out demons, enough to raise the dead.

But under God’s plan he suffered.

And he didn’t shrink from that suffering – he embraced it as God’s plan. He walked towards the suffering. He did not change the circumstances. He did not demand from God that the suffering be taken away – he asked “Father, if it is your will – take this cup from me”… but clearly it was God’s plan that Jesus suffer, not just death but humiliation, torture and agony, the betrayal of friends, followers and family, the jeering crowds, the gloating high priests, the murderer crucified next to him… at no point do we see Jesus saying that if only he’d had enough faith… then…!?

The Myth Busted

The myth is that faith will fix everything – that enough faith will lead to health, wealth and a lack of suffering.

The truth is that faith will most often lead to suffering – and that’s by God’s design, plan and under his control not Satan’s. It’s through suffering that we learn to rely on Jesus rather than ourselves. It is through suffering that we see God’s power at work in our lives as we come to greater faith.

Practically speaking – what can I say about my own suffering – death, sickness, theft?

• Was it Satan is attacking me and my family – meaning the that the suffering is a sign of faith?
• Was it God causing me and my family to repent?
• Was it a sign of a lack of faith?

You will hear each of these views in churches. And I would say, none of them is quite true.

What is true – from the Scriptures – is this.

• God is constantly bringing us to repentance through suffering, he is refining and testing our faith and causing us to rely on him. We know that this is part and parcel of faith in Christ.
• We also know that Satan is still at large, chained and defeated, but still lashing out, still active, still dangerous – and still a bully, a coward and a prat – Satan’s rule of this world means that we should understand that evil, sin and attacks on Christians should be seen as Satan at work – if the book of Revelation makes anything clear it should be that.
• But we also know that Satan is not outside God’s influence, power or control.

Faith is trusting in Christ no matter what this life brings – knowing that in the next we will receive life for eternity unfettered by the things that drag us down in this life. Suffering here on earth is not a sign of faithlessness – but rather part of the work of God to bring us closer to him. In the end – it’s not my quantity of faith that has any meaning whatsoever – but Christ’s faithfulness that means everything. What Christ inherits – I inherit. Where Christ spends eternity, I will spend eternity. What Christ receives he offers to share with me and you – if only we will give up the pretence of control over our lives and trust in him, in his death and resurrection – by faith and action Christ Jesus dealt with sin and the power of death and he offers that victory to us. I tell you what – in the end – I don’t want to put my trust in the quantity of faith I have – I want to put my trust in Christ’s proven faithfulness.

Why Believe In God?

The Existence of God

• Buddhists believe in no god – rather that we are all one with the universe and play our part in making it work.
• Hindus say there are many gods and you must be true to your god.
• Eastern religions – Shintoism for example – say each family’s ancestors are gods.
• Muslims says there is one God, Allah, and no other.
• Jews say there is one God, Yahweh, and no other.
• The Bahai’s – there are many gods and spirits – all represent the one god. Bahai is sort of a Western Hinduism.
• The atheist says there is no God. This is all there is – life is about how you live now.
• The agnostic says there may be a god but we cannot know.
• Some people worship Mother Nature as an actual spiritual force, the power behind all things that we need to coöperate with and even please or she will react. This isn’t new by the way – nature worship, and worship of the spirits of the earth is one of the oldest religions in the world.
• Some people worship the universe. Self help books like “The Secret” – claim that the universe will provide anything to those willing to ask for it. Ask, believe, receive – simple! Which is sort of a materialistic consumer driven Buddhism.
• People worship Satan as a god – they call him “the prince of darkness” as though that makes him great, and ask him to grant them all good things – which is impossible.

And they say we’re strange!
According to some statistics 19% of Australians attend a church at least once a month. 65% say there is a god. They have a multitude of ideas about that god – he’s distant, spiritual, inhabits the heavens, plays games, she’s female, doesn’t care, walks like a goat! But, for the majority of Australians, God simply isn’t part of each day. They may have some vague idea of something greater than them in the universe – but it doesn’t really mean anything. They might pray when in trouble or looking for a parking spot – but equally might use Jesus name as a swear word or God as an exclamation mark – “oh my …”!
Psalm 10:4 “In his pride the wicked person does not seek God; in all their thoughts there is no room for God.”
Some Christians say people have a God shaped hole. Is that true? Really? The Bible says that without God’s direct intervention people don’t seek God – and left to our own devices we happily ignore God. I reckon if you ask around most people don’t think they have a God shaped hole – though that may be the point being made – the hole is there but we don’t know what it is. Most people have issues, mortgages, credit card bills and problems like everyone else – but God doesn’t get a look in. If they think they have a void, how do they try to fill it? A good job, a promotion, a new house or bigger car; earn more money, give the kids a better start, a plasma TV, a nice holiday, keep their kids off drugs. The void might be filled by alcohol, sex, food – anything that feels like it works. There are a million ways that don’t involve God – any god… “in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” I think Christians like to think people have a God shaped hole – maybe it gives us something to aim for? The reality is though, most people only think about God in relation to death! They make no connection between God and living.
What do Christians believe? What do you and I believe?

Apostles Creed

• We believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;
• And in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended to the dead. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy universal church; the fellowship of the saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen
• There is one God – who has been revealed to us by his creative work in the world, by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and by the ongoing work of Jesus in our lives and in the world in the person of the Holy Spirit. One God, three persons – God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit!

Reasons to Believe

When the majority of the world disagrees with you… why do you believe?
Our reasons can often be a turn off for non-Christians. For many of us the answer to “why do you believe” is “I just do!”

• I feel that there is a God.
• I have experienced God’s love or kindness.
• I have felt the Holy Spirit at work in me.
• I know Jesus loves me.
• I can’t believe that there isn’t a God because of the complexity of the universe.

All of these are exactly the same excuses an atheist uses to disprove God’s existence – they are the centre of their world and it doesn’t make sense to them… therefore there is no god. They have never seen God at work and therefore God must not exist.
As a Christian my reasons for believing in God cannot be centred on me. Or in other words… I am not the reason you should believe in God.

Why do I believe in God?

• Jesus – I’ll come back to him in a minute…
• Creation – I find creation is too amazing, too beautiful, too complex to be anything other than the work of a Creator. This is my belief and my observation and the interpretation of the evidence, and whilst I think atheists are wrong, their beliefs about creation and my beliefs are equally valid. They start from a position – “a priori” there is no god – therefore the creation is the result of some other force – natural forces. For me – I start from the position of knowing Jesus – “a priori” there is a God and he has revealed himself to us. So when I read…

Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

…I agree – the hand of God in creation is obvious to me.

• I find water fascinating and amazing – it can be in the form of ice, steam, liquid – the freezing point and boiling point of water are exactly right for life on earth. The freezing properties of water, the universal solvent, that it is the basis of life – our bodies are 97% water – and waterfalls – I find waterfalls to be majestic and a thing of beauty – something that for me points to the creator. I could go on about water – waves, oceans, etc.
• I find the enormity of space – the majesty of the stars – the size of the universe – the complexity, the inter-connectivity of relationships between sun and moon and earth and planets and stars – the beauty of the galaxies – all point to a creator rather than chance
• The human body – where to start – the eye… a wonder of evolution or the creation work of an incredible God? The brain – the heart – the complexity of the nervous system. We humans are smart – but there is so little we really understand about the body – we can walk on the moon, we can excise cancer – but we can’t defeat the flu?
• I could go on – talk about complexity and apparent design – there’s the old story… I was walking along a street the other day when I looked down in the gutter and saw all these atoms and dust particles laying there – and as I watched they started changing and evolving before my eyes until finally there was this beautiful watch laying the gutter – and I picked it up and it was working and telling exactly the right time – and I thought to myself – isn’t it amazing how the universe just evolved out of nothing.
• The thing is though – I start from the position that there is a God and we can know him. The atheist starts from the position that there is no god. Science only helps – it’s not absolute unless you’re willing to accept the evidence. That’s what faith is – what you are willing to accept as evidence of the truth.

• Parents – my parents are part of the equation of belief and faith for me. I don’t mean that they forced me to believe – but I saw the evidence of their lives that matched with their words. My father was a minister – my parents were in ministry for many years – and despite failings and sinfulness and all the rest of the normal human equation – mum and dad lived by what they said. Their lives matched what they preached and taught. That had an enormous influence on me – because I could see the reality of the Scriptures lived out in front of me – imperfectly to be sure – but still true.
• Sin and death – these two great enemies of mankind have something in common. No matter what I do – I cannot defeat them. No matter how hard I try I still sin – I want to do what is right and I fail and I struggle with not doing things I don’t want to do – and I fail. And death – death is not natural – death is an aberration. Someone has to deal with sin and death – they cannot be allowed to continue unabated. Again though – this is just my opinion and belief.
• In the end – my reason to believe comes down to Jesus – Jesus is the answer to the question. I don’t think atheists and agnostics engage with the question of Jesus.

How do you know God exists?

Because God sent his son, Jesus, to died on the cross and pay the penalty for sin, and Jesus rose again from the dead to prove his power over death and to offer us life with him.
In fact – like in Sunday school – Jesus is the real answer to every question – not in a superficial way. You can use all the other evidence, but often they simply become side tracks, ways for people to get out of dealing with Jesus – and that’s the one thing they need to do. For example – people say…

• I couldn’t believe in a God that hates homosexuals!

• The answer is… “God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and raised Jesus to life to offer us victory over death. He doesn’t hate homosexuals.”

People say…

• There is no God – otherwise there would be no pain or death or evil.

• The answer is… “Jesus died on the cross to deal with sin and the penalty for our sins and God raised Jesus to life to offer us victory over death. He has dealt with evil and death.”

People say…

• All religions are the same. Why should I believe in your god?

• “Because God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and to rise from the dead to prove his power over both sin and death.”

Just as we might “just know” that Christ died for our sins, and we “believe” that there is no other way to be saved, and we are “certain” of what we believe – the reason is not that we just believe. I could ‘just believe’ that the earth is flat. I can say “I know the Holy Spirit is in me” and someone can deny that reality with equal conviction. I can say “I feel God loves me” – a new age proponent can say they “feel at one with the universe”. I can say “I know the power of the Holy Spirit” and a Satan worshipper can say that they “know” the power of the prince of darkness – with equal conviction.
Religion is about faith – but unless that faith is based in real things, it is simply blind wishful thinking. In my opinion the most religious and faithful people in the world… are the atheists.

• They refuse to believe in the existence of a God despite the evidence that seems so obvious to me.
• Or they simply refuse to think about it – they don’t want God in charge and they do want to be in charge so rather than thinking through the issues they just claim there is no god, and they latch onto any reason they can find that ‘disproves’ the existence of God.
• Richard Dawkins who wrote “The God Delusion” says that the human body, despite its complexity, does not display the purpose and plan of an “intelligent designer” because in many ways it is foolish. No intelligent creator would make the body so fragile. The need to excrete waste, the pointlessness of the appendices, the wasted potential of the brain – all this points to evolution as a much better explanation over millions of years rather than a god.
• Douglas Adams, the author of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy: “…I am convinced that there is not a god… I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one.” “…People will … say “surely it’s better to remain an Agnostic just in case?” … If it turns out that I’ve been wrong all along, and there is in fact a god, and if it further turned out that this kind of legalistic, cross-your-fingers-behind-your-back … impressed him, then … I would chose not to worship him anyway.”
• Just two of a million different reasons people have for not believing. The common denominator in every reason not to believe in the existence of God is… the person at the centre. The atheist and the agnostic are their own gods in their own little world.

Defend the Faith

As Christians we are told that we need to be prepared to defend our faith.
1 Peter 3:15 “…in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect…”
200 years ago we didn’t have to convince the majority of people that God existed. But increasingly preaching the gospel will have to start with helping people see that there is a God and that we humans must take notice of Him. They need to be introduced to Jesus – that’s where our answers need to start and finish – not with me and what I think or feel but with Christ and what he has done.
I think Paul’s conversion and ministry is a good example. Paul was converted when he was confronted by the living physical risen Lord Jesus who appeared to him in a blaze of heavenly glory as Paul was on the road to Damascus where he planned to kill Christians. It would be hard to think of a more dramatic life changing experience of Jesus. Yet when Paul preaches the gospel, and he starts almost immediately, he uses the history of Israel, the scriptures, the confusion of the gentiles, the logic and reality of the world and the creation.
Acts 13:26-33 “Brothers, children of Abraham, and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people. “We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus.”
He never uses his feelings or the strangeness of his experiences to proclaim the truth of the gospel. It would have been all too easy to put those weird experiences down to other things – rather than the reality and power of Jesus. This is something we need to understand in our world too. Jesus is the proof of God’s existence. Telling people we’re trying to witness to that we’re praying for them is one thing – and that’s a weird thing for most blokes. But talking about spiritual feelings and experiences will turn most people away. They will only believe when they have understood the truth about Jesus, by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus = the Proof

As we defend what we believe there are four things that are important in our understanding of God and in what we tell people.

1. He exists – he has shown himself in the person and work of Jesus the Christ. In Jesus we meet the Lord of the whole universe. This is no distant spiritual force – we can know God as his friends.
2. He creates – this is God who is intimately connected to his creation – one of the surprising things about Jesus is the power he displays over creation – the wind, waves, demons, sickness and disease, life and death – and over people. The world responds to the voice of the creator when it responds to Jesus.
3. He cares – he sent Jesus to deal with sin and death – the two enemies that would defeat us without God’s intervention. He sacrificed his Son to pay the price of our sins.
4. He commands – commands repentance and obedience. People in our world want to ignore God – but that’s a very dangerous thing to do. He commands that all people everywhere live according to Jesus.

Acts 17:30b-31 God “…commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”
In the end it won’t be science or history or experience that changes people. Richard Dawkins needs to meet Jesus – it’s as simple as that. He needs to come face-to-face with the risen Christ, just as Paul the Apostle did. For us we need to help people meet Jesus – or at the very least we need to help people see that they need to deal with Jesus – he claims authority over sin, death and over our very lives – and offers life and perfect freedom to those who belong to him.

Transforming Grace

The Giant Maze

Have you ever been in one of those giant mazes – made out of hedges or timber fences or whatever? You pay good money to get lost – it takes you ages to get through all the twists and turns, you make wrong turns and hit dead ends and all that.

So… how would it be if that was what life was all about – making it through the maze and past the obstacles until somehow, more by luck than good management, you make it through and out to freedom?

Maybe that’s the way life feels anyway. Maybe life is confusing and the things that happen, or at least happen to you, seem senseless or maybe ultimately without purpose.

What would be worse than living that way…?

Discovering when you finally get to the end… that life had nothing to do with how well you got through the maze, nothing to do with making all the right choices or even all the wrong ones!

Billions of people are living with this false understanding – how I get through the maze matters – that’s the carrot – doing whatever I can to win the prize! What will they find in the end? According to the Bible, reward is not based on ability or performance, cleverness, strength, goodness, speed, generosity or karma or anything that we can do. The reward of life in God’s kingdom is given based on grace.

Our understanding of Christ and faith can’t be reduced to just one thing. Faith is complex. Being a disciple is complex. Our understanding of what God has done through Christ is complex. But at the heart of Christianity is one, simple, vital thing to understand. Being a disciple is entirely about God’s grace. We struggle coming to grips with belonging to Christ, what it means to become a Christian, what faith is, our feelings of hypocrisy and inadequacy. But at the top of our list should be understanding the simplicity of… accepting the simplicity of… God’s grace in Jesus.

Have you experienced an act of grace from another person? Do you even know what it is, what it looks like, what’s involved? Can you define ‘grace’? How do we get it?

What is Grace?

Grace is an unusual experience.

It’s not our common daily experience – even in the church. The Bible speaks of the church as the community of grace but I suspect that grace is not what we expect to receive in our day-to-day relationships – even inside the church. Even if we did I wonder if we’d recognise it. What is it?

There’s a clever little anagram.

• God’s
• Riches
• At
• Christ’s
• Expense

It’s interesting – do an online image search for those words and you get lots of words with beach or sunset scenes. I wonder why we equate grace with those images? Anyway… it’s clever and pithy and memorable. But maybe a little too limiting.

Grace is more basic than that. Grace is undeserved kindness or undeserved gain. It’s not a reward for doing something. It’s not payment for services or faithfulness. If I pay you to finish writing this blog our transaction has nothing to do with grace – it’s a payment for services. If I give you a birthday gift or a wedding present – that’s not grace at work. We may say “there’s no expectation to give a gift” but there is a convention, an agreement rightly or wrongly expected that we will celebrate a birthday with gifts or we will help the happy couple get started by giving them presents. If I give you a gift because of an event that’s not grace at work. Grace is not based on anything to do with us, nor on convention or agreement. Grace is not based on expectation of a return.

It is undeserved kindness. It is kindness towards the undeserving, the criminal, the unlovely, kindness to the person who can least expect to receive it by their own virtue.

Let’s say you rob a bank – your mind goes out to lunch and you rip off the local wealth management establishment. The police catch you… and haul you before the judge and he sentences you. That’s fair! You deserve it. But if the judge handed down the greatest punishment possible… and then took the punishment and set you free to – that would be grace. That would be undeserved, unmerited kindness – given to someone undeserving – based on nothing you have or can do.

Undeserved Kindness

That’s what Paul is speaking of in Romans.

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

A Christian is someone who has been justified through faith – justified means made clean or pardoned – their sins have been wiped from the record book and they are at peace (no longer enemies) with God. A Christian has what was unattainable on their own – access into the grace of God by faith – access to all God’s riches. That in fact is the foundation of our lives. That knowledge – that reality allows us to rejoice in the hope we have of sharing in the glory of God – even when the world makes life tough for us. Because of Jesus – through Jesus we know that we have a new foundation the world can’t demolish – the building of our lives will last into eternity.

Some people say we’re arrogant if we believe we have a guarantee of heaven. But it’s not arrogance but rather acceptance of a truth that we have received from Jesus.

Do you know someone – a solid Christian – a person well known for their faith, who has since died? Where are they – right now? They are home, in heaven. They are sharing in Christ’s inheritance. We can boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God – and that those who have gone before us are standing before our Father in person right now.

How do we get to that point – how do we earn it? What gives us the ‘right’ to make such an arrogant claim? Acceptance!

Romans 5:6-8 “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is the judge who handed down the awful sentence of death for the crimes committed, coming down from the judgement seat to take the punishment instead of us. How do we earn it? We don’t – we can’t – there is no option to earn God’s grace. But we are given the right to claim these things. Even though…

Romans 6:23 “the wages of sin is death…”

We also know that…

Romans 6:23b “…the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense – G.R.A.C.E. The gift is given, the judge takes the penalty. Jesus came with the specific purpose of dying in our place – and God raised him from death to demonstrate his obedience, and his power over sin and death – Jesus was born to put into action God’s plan of grace.

Be Transformed

The big thing about grace is this – the only true grace is transforming grace.

A friend of mine is working through what he believes. He believes in God, but he’s on the fence and has not decided for Christ – his concern is that whilst it’s easy enough to become a Christian he knows that he can never be good enough and he’s afraid of being a hypocrite. What I love, despite wanting him to get off the fence, is that his understanding is so clear.

God’s grace is transforming grace.

1. Once we have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour God sees us as transformed. When he looks at us he no longer sees our sin but he sees Jesus – pure white as the driven snow. Revelation speaks of us as being – clothed in white and standing before our Father – that is how God sees his people now. He looks at us through the grid of Jesus’ righteousness.
2. This is how we will be for eternity. Not just that God sees us as transformed but we will be perfect for all eternity – it’s so hard to imagine that possibility – but my soul will be as white as the driven snow – not simply clothed in white but washed clean by the blood of Jesus the lamb.

Revelation 7:14b “…they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

We have been washed in the blood of Jesus – what an image – made clean – strange but true. [P]

3. Thirdly it is transforming grace because God expects his people, having died to sin and the old way of the sinful life, and having been born again as new people… God expects that we will be being transformed to become the people God sees us as!

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God–what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The Grace of God is a transforming grace – my friend is right to consider the consequences of becoming a Christian – because God expects that we will be changed to be like Christ – and that that will show up in our relationships and lifestyle and activities and everything that we hold dear. God would have us be transformed in how we respond and act towards each other – that we would treat each other with the grace God has given us, that we would live out underserved kindness to one another.

What would that look like in the church?

What would it look like in the world?

It doesn’t come naturally. It’s much easier to assume that other people are around for my benefit – not that we think that consciously. But God has given each of us to the building of his church and for the benefit of each other – this is the ongoing outworking of his grace.

1 Peter 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time…”

1 Peter 1:8-9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”